Pennsylvania, 1997

Heat in Pennsylvania, March 1 to 2, 1997

March 1 to 2, 1997 · NWS PHI · 10 events in 10 counties and zones

A persistent west to southwest flow of air throughout the Eastern United States brought unseasonably warm air into Eastern Pennsylvania from the afternoon of February 26th through March 2nd. The warmest day through this spring preview was February 27th as many new record high temperatures were set.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 7 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
10

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS PHI wrote it up.

A persistent west to southwest flow of air throughout the Eastern United States brought unseasonably warm air into Eastern Pennsylvania from the afternoon of February 26th through March 2nd. The warmest day through this spring preview was February 27th as many new record high temperatures were set. A series of cold fronts, one early on February 28th and a stronger second one on March 2nd brought temperatures closer to seasonal levels. At the Philadelphia International Airport, the high of 74 degrees beat the previous record of 70 degrees for February 27th set in 1946. At the Lehigh Valley International Airport, the high temperature of 72 degrees thoroughly thrashed the previous record of 64 degrees set in 1976. Other high temperatures from February 27th around Eastern Pennsylvania included 76 degrees in Reading, 74 degrees in Doylestown (Bucks County) and Crum Creek (Delaware County), 73 degrees in Green Lane (Montgomery County) and Neshaminy Falls (Bucks County), 69 degrees in East Stroudsburg (Monroe County), 65 degrees in Jundale (Carbon County) and 64 degrees in Tobyhanna (Monroe County).

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

10 heat. Local standard time, as filed.

Heat, Philadelphia

When
March 1, 12:00 AM EST to March 2, 5:00 PM EST
Where
Philadelphia forecast zone
Coordinates
40.008, -75.134 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Northampton

When
March 1, 12:00 AM EST to March 2, 5:00 PM EST
Where
Northampton forecast zone
Coordinates
40.754, -75.307 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Montgomery

When
March 1, 12:00 AM EST to March 2, 5:00 PM EST
Where
Montgomery forecast zone

Heat, Monroe

When
March 1, 12:00 AM EST to March 2, 5:00 PM EST
Where
Monroe forecast zone
Coordinates
41.058, -75.339 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Lehigh

When
March 1, 12:00 AM EST to March 2, 5:00 PM EST
Where
Lehigh forecast zone
Coordinates
40.613, -75.592 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Delaware

When
March 1, 12:00 AM EST to March 2, 5:00 PM EST
Where
Delaware forecast zone
Coordinates
39.917, -75.399 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Chester

When
March 1, 12:00 AM EST to March 2, 5:00 PM EST
Where
Chester forecast zone

Heat, Carbon

When
March 1, 12:00 AM EST to March 2, 5:00 PM EST
Where
Carbon forecast zone
Coordinates
40.918, -75.709 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heat, Bucks

When
March 1, 12:00 AM EST to March 2, 5:00 PM EST
Where
Bucks forecast zone

Heat, Berks

When
March 1, 12:00 AM EST to March 2, 5:00 PM EST
Where
Berks forecast zone
Coordinates
40.416, -75.926 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Heat
Heat below excessive heat criteria that still caused deaths, injuries or significant impacts.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Pennsylvania in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in Pennsylvania, March 1997

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5595688, 5595689, 5595690, 5595691, 5595692, 5595693, 5595694, 5595695, 5595696, 5595697.